Incredible view of London at Duck & Waffle

Are you afraid of heights?

If so, the access to Duck & Waffle will be difficult for you. This 40th floor restaurant is based on the top of the Heron Tower, a minute walk from Liverpool Street tube station.

The incredibly fast glass elevator will take you in record time to the restaurant floor. Just enough to admire the view of the City.

As far as I remember, I've never been afraid of height. When I was 13 and I visited Toronto I found myself happily bouncing on the 342m glass floor while my mum, as pale as Snow-white, was trying to get me out the glass floor. But apparently this is an important issue for many of us. My advice would be to keep staring at your mobile phone during the whole trip, till we hit stable floor.

I certainly looked like a little girl with my nose pressed against the elevator window, admiring the view and the technology! But who cares, we should always be capable of astonishment at any age.

Once arrived the first feeling is Wow! Glass walls allows to keep admiring the view in 360°. And the design of the bar welcoming you is simply marvellous. A hint of street art mixed with the elegance of modern chandelier. A very colourful place that surrounds perfectly the bar. You feel a little bit like home as you could almost go prepare your own drink with all the tasty ingredients presented in front of you.

Bar

Bar

Bar

We first stayed there for a drink letting time for the staff to set our table. Cocktails are very ingenious, blending new flavours to classic ones. Think cinnamon in a Manhattan, yuzu in a G&T and truffle in a Whiskey Sour. Duck & Waffle also offers a great wine list.

The restaurant area is much more cosy with its rough wooden furniture. This creates a strange sensation, as you are in the middle of the City, surrounded by huge buildings so far away from what nature looks like but sitting in the most natural element of all: wood. But if you are here for a Sunday brunch, you'll find the couches much more appropriate!

But let's talk about the food! Unfortunately I didn't take pictures of the lunch (shame on me) but I hope that my verbal description will titillate your curiosity. And this will be a perfect excuse to go back there!

The menu offers plenty of small plates easy to share. The best thing to do is to go there with a bunch of friends and order many of them for entrance. So for starters we shared: the Rosemary and Garlic Bread which was delicious. The Bbq-Spiced Crispy Pig Ears, and I must admit that I wasn't really keen on tasting it as it doesn't sound really attractive, but I quickly changed my mind thanks to the crispiness and the spices that makes you forget what this really is. The Salad and the Crab Toast were delicious too.

At that point we all were very satisfied with what we had tasted. And kept going on with the main dish: a Whole Roasted Sussex Chicken. Marvellously baked with a mix of wild mushrooms in a delicate truffle sauce. I could have eaten the whole chicken by myself if my stomach would allow it as it was incredibly delicious! The Chicken is brought to the table, already cut, in a huge plate just like you would do it at home. This is very appreciable as it gather your guests around the same dish, passing the plate so everyone can have his bite just like in a Sunday family lunch. It gives a nicely warm feeling.

To continue our food journey, we couldn't say no to dessert and of course ordered one of each!

The Cheese of the Week was a little bit disappointing as the given piece was very small and the cheese itself wasn't incredible.

The winner of the dessert list was unanimously the Torrejas followed by the Warm Chocolate Brownie and the Eton Mess.

Torrejas looked a lot like a Tarte Tatin, with its warm maple caramel apples. The maple simply add a taste that complete perfectly this dessert, leaving you with an extreme desire of an other bite.

Warm Chocolate Brownie is a classic one with a smooth heart and combine with Peanut Butter Ice Cream. Warm chocolate and peanut butter blend incredibly well.

Eton Mess in just like any good Eton Mess, with lots of meringue, fresh berries and so fluffy that you feel that you could eat two more of it.

Private Dining Room

As for every restaurant I've talked about in this blog, I highly recommend this place for lunch, diner or brunch! Prices are fair considering the place. Dishes are very well prepared and the staff is very kind. I went there by day but I am sure that the view must be also incredible at night with the City lights! Isn't London a beautiful place to live?

If you go to Duck & Waffle, make sure to have a look downstairs to the Samba Sushi terrace with its massive orange tree at the 38th floor. Samba Sushi is apparently one of the place to be now in London for their amazing sushi. I promise that I'll go try it and post about it!

Meanwhile enjoy your evening!

Opens 24/7

Heron Tower
110 Bishopgate, London EC2N 4AY
+44 203 640 7310

Osteria Basilico

With my parents we used to travel a lot to Italy as we had family there. Mostly in the Toscana region, one of the best known for its incredible food. Last year I visited Roma and Venice for the first time and as always I was impressed by the quality of dishes in any Trattoria! The simplest pasta plate is always incredibly tasty!

Italian food is internationally known but unlike in Italy not every Italian restaurant abroad is a good one.

I love Italian products and it is important for me to find everywhere I go a nice place with Italian certified products well prepared. When I used to live in Switzerland I found my Italian Trattoria and it was definitely my favourite restaurant in the whole city. So, naturally when I arrived in London I searched for its sister.

Luckily, I live just a block away from the Italian street in Notting Hill and so, I tried the Osteria Basilico which was recommended by one of my friend.

After just putting one foot inside I was already falling in love with the place. An authentic Italian Trattoria! Small, cosy, noisy with old wooden furniture and of course an Italian owner and Italian waiters! It felt like just by opening the door I passed through a vortex taking me in less than a second directly to Italy.

And the food! What a delight! While making your choice you will be eating the most delicate rosemary bread, warm as it just came out of the oven with real flavoured olive oil. I almost filled myself with it as I couldn't stop eating!

The Burrata is exactly like in Italy, juicy and tasty, served with a hint of olive oil and Parma ham, the best Burrata I've had since Roma!

Pasta and pizza are traditional too. The ingredients are responsible for the quality of the food, fresh or directly imported from Italy.

You won't be disappointed by the wine list neither, a large choice of Italian (and French) delicious wine.

I can only recommend Osteria Basilico. Since the first time, I've been going there regularly and introducing it to most of my friends. 

Please try to book in advance and go with an empty stomach!

Carpaccio

Burrata and Parma Ham

Seafood Pasta

29 Kensington Park Road
Notting Hill Gate
London
W11 2EU

020 7727 9957

Yummyatcha

After having some bubbles at a friend's gallery in Mayfair last Friday, I braved the rain for a romantic dinner at Yauatcha in Soho.

I think you remember how was Friday night in London, the worse weather we had in weeks.

So we arrived at Yauatcha completely soaked... After spending quite a while doing my rebellious hair, this was a complete defeat!

Thankfully, I could quickly order my favourite cocktail, the Nashi Momo. A rich and savoury mixture prepared with Belvedere vodka, peach liqueur, nashi pear, coconut and guava juice. It looks so much like a milkshake that I could have some for breakfast anytime!

Nashi Momo

It wasn't my first time at this one-star Michelin restaurant. So when the menu came I handled the ordering.

I always go for the Dim Sum, it is easy to share and it lets you the chance to try a bunch of them. Pointless to say that each one is tastier than the others and that you will definitely have to go back to try them all.

I have honestly not try anything that I didn't like! The star is well earned! As for the staff who is always nice, effective and who will guide you through the never-ending choices in the menu.

My date and I are big fans of seafood so we took many of the prawn and scallops choices. And of course the Crispy Duck Roll which is A-MA-ZING. The Sweet Potato Mushroom Mei-Si Roll is a vegetarian dish winner, this crispy roll soaked up in a little of soya sauce is an explosion of textures in your mouth.

But the most interesting one is the Dim Sum with soup inside (impossible to remember the name). You will have to wait till it cools down a bit and then put it entirely in your mouth. And then the magic happens, mouth filled with a delicious liquid, and you wish there were more of them in your plate.

I can't wait till the next time I'll go to Yauatcha. It is on the top of my favourites Chinese restaurant list, and every time I go it never disappoints me. It feels like an old friend, you know that even if you haven't seen him for a while you will always feel at ease and be happy discovering the new stories he has to tell.

Soup

Rice paper prawn and mango roll

Soup dim sum

Sweet potato mushroom mei-si roll

Pan-fried turnip cake

Crispy duck roll

To finish this tasteful diner I ordered a last cocktail which was also my dessert: the Lady Penelope.

I almost forgot to talk about their iced teas! The most incredible ones I have ever tasted. Made with jasmine tea and flavoured with any kind of fruit, there are extremely refreshing and a good compromise for non-alcoholic beverages.

Lady Penelope

Don't forget to book your table in advance and enjoy this delicious Chinese diner in a very modern environment, aquariums all around you and stars on the ceiling. It can sound like a quiet atmosphere but the music and the buzz going on around you recalls every Chinese restaurant but way more glamorous!

Monday – Saturday : 12 noon – 11.30pm

Sunday : 12 noon – 10.30pm

15-17 Broadwick Street

Soho, London, W1F 0DL

+44 (0) 20 7494 8888

Reservations@yauatcha.com

Favourite brunch in Notting Hill

Have you ever been to Raoul's? It's a restaurant in Notting Hill where I use to drag myself on Sundays, usually after a big night out. I love the place, first of all because it is not far from my flat, and second (and most important of all) because brunchs there are incredible!

As I'm usually brain-dead when I arrive I spend way too much time trying to choose. But it is also because the menu is too big, and everything looks so tasty!

I mostly try to find inspiration in the plates of the people surrounding me but I finally end up picking something from their daily specials.

Smoothies are perfect for hang-over as the taste is yummy and it also feels so healthy! I definitely recommend their Eggs Florentine and the Greek Yoghurt with honey and nuts.

It is always full but I never had to wait more than 10 minutes to be seated as they offer two floors.

 

Eggs Florentine

Potato Cake

French Toasted Croissants with maple syrup and berries, yu-mmy !

Greek Yoghurt

Croissant with butter and jam

All this food pictures are making me hungry! So have a nice lunch everybody!

105 - 107 Talbot Road, London W11 2AT

Tel +44 (0)20 7229 2400

Ping

Last Wednesday, with a bunch of friends we finally went to Earl's court to try a bar that opened in July, the Ping. We have been talking about this place for ages and never managed to find a date. So now it is done and it was a wonderful surprise! We didn't really know what to expect as I just read a post in a blog and found it quite appealing.

You will have to book in advance. Then you arrive in front of a huge black door and a desk where a beautiful girl will call one of the waiters to take you to the table.

After some stairs you find yourself in the middle of old-school arcade games, ping-pong tables and cosy armchairs! What a strange mix! But it works perfectly!

  

We were nicely surprised about the prices of the food and cocktails. Kind of really cheap for a place like that! 

Pizzas are delicious! With interesting fillings such as truffle oil and brie or stilton, pear and honey (yes, I do love cheese).

And the cocktails, ô cocktails! I tried one with amaretto and cinnamon and then an other one called Berry Blast and both of them were spectacular. The only problem is that they are too easy to drink and the glasses emptied it-selves too quickly! To end the dinner I highly recommend their Espresso Martini, better than having a simple coffee, don't you think?

And what about the desserts? We choose to share a Ping Porn (which is a Nutella pizza (yes such things exists)). I think it is pointless to say that it is an incredible invention and that it deserves its name.

But for the milkshake lover that I am the best dessert was My Milkshake Brings All The Boys To The Yard.  I am craving for one right now. The ingredients may look simple but everyone agreed on the taste.

But Ping is not only about food and a lot of drinks. It is mostly about the entertainment. In the middle of all this you will find ping pong tables. Perfect to play a nice and quite game you said? Impossible! But perfect for beer-pong (or even Champagne-Pong). As we were five girls and five guys you can figure out what were the teams. It felt nice to play this college drinking game in such an atmosphere, far away from a student residence hallway, and of course it brought back a lot of memories!

Ping has quickly become one of my favourite places in London. We had so much fun that I think we will be going back really soon.

Try it with a bunch of friends and be prepared to laugh a lot! And don't forget to put your name on the ping-pong list as soon as you arrive!

180-184 Earl’s Court Road, SW5 9QG

02073705358

hello@weloveping.com